pix11.com | @stephtsoflias
8:28 p.m. EDT, September 26, 2012
LONG ISLAND CITY, NY (PIX11)—
37-year-old Alex Martinez hustled in the Big Apple to make a life for his family in Florida. And every chance he got, his family said Martinez stopped to take it all in.
“He was the epitome of a father and brother. He took care of his kids. It killed him being here for so long,” said George Martinez, his brother.
But before he could see his family again, the electrician was killed while biking to work at a construction site in Long Island City on Tuesday. His 37th birthday.
“He rode his bike every day. He was just trying to make a living,” said George.
Now George and Martinez’s family are in planning a funeral at a time they should have been planning a birthday celebration. Police say at 6am on Tuesday morning, Martinez was riding along Queens Boulevard near Hoover Avenue when a truck exiting the Van Wyck Expressway hit his bike. Witnesses say Martinez flew 10 feet in the air. Now, flowers lay where the father of two was killed.
“He rode his bike every day. Every day on this route,” said George.
Local construction workers say the location where Martinez got killed is a death trap. The off- ramp from the expressway lacks signage and construction cones create a blind spot where trucks merge onto Queens Boulevard.
Martinez’s family is now calling for the city to take action to create safer bike paths on that road, also known as the “Boulevard of Death”. They also hope witnesses contact police to help track down the driver who drove off.
If you have any information, you are urged to call crimestoppers at 1800-577-tips.
